This is the journal of the Institute of Hispanic Ufology (IHU), presenting UFO and paranormal cases from Spain, South America and the Caribbean

Friday, March 20, 2009

An Interview with José Martinez of PRRG

José A. Martínez graciously accepted our request to answer a few questions on his organization's UFO research endeavors on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, a notorious UFO hotspot for many generations.

What is the Puerto Rican Research Group?

It’s a non-profit entity that emerged in the 1960’s, but by 1988 was established as an organization registered with the Puerto Rican State Department. It is made up of several individual specialized in given technical fields and having knowledge of specific areas. For example, the group’s director or leader is Mr. Willie Durand Urbina, who has a background in cinematography. He was a cameraman for a San Juan-based TV station and he has pursued this profession as a photo and video analyst. He’s currently specializing in optics and how it affects our environment. Willie covers the San Juan Area. Another of our members is Juan A. Lopez, another technician in photo analysis and the group’s logistician. His work is of great importance, as he has considerable knowledge of photo imagery. Juan covers the Hato Rey and Fajardo areas. Whalberto Cardona is an airline pilot with a vast knowledge of aircraft; his opinions are very important within the group when it comes to analyzing objects in our skies. He covers the entire southeastern region of Puerto Rico. Carmen Martinez is a special member of our group, as she delves in the paranormal. She’s our adviser in paranormal affairs and specializes in this field. José A. Martinez has a background in computer science and worked for the Department of Justice’s internal security department. He’s in charge of field research, collecting all data in a forensic manner, guarding the scene to keep it from being tainted until specialized equipment can be brought in. He’s also in charge of several of the group’s websites and of informing the pertinent media.

To what can we ascribe the constant presence of anomalous phenomena in Puerto Rico?

The presence of these phenomena can be attributed to several sources, from natural and artificial phenomena to others having no logical explanation whatsoever. We are in a part of the planet that constitutes one of the vertexes of the so-called Bermuda Triangle. It could be the considerable quantity of geomagnetic energy that surrounds the entire Caribbean area, and it has been shown that phenomena of this type is attracted to these natural magnetic fields, and this could be an explanation. But above all, we’re on a geological fault that is in constant motion, creating pressure and friction, releasing lights that are sometimes mistaken for UFOs, apparitions, “hachos”, witches and other names given by people who are not aware of natural forces. These strange phenomena include the Chupacabras, an entity that appears every 20-30 years and is very furtive. Others dismiss this phenomenon, but have not conducted field research to emit a sound judgment on the matter. There are hundreds of witnesses who have seen it, and describe the same thing. It’s a case that remains open for discussion and analysis.

And specifically, why in the island’s southwestern corner?

Not only in the southwestern corner of Puerto Rico. We have identified other places with constant sightings, among them the Ponce coastal region, Guayanilla, Guanica, Lajas, Aguadilla, Cabo Rojo, the mountainous area of Yauco, Orocovis, El Yunque, Morovis, Luquillo, Cerro Las Mesas, Mayaguez, Marcao, Adjuntas, Eastern Vieques, Fajardo, Vega Alta and Vega Baja, Arecibo – all of these areas have been identified as geomagnetically aberrant. This means that these areas contain some kind of magnetic mineral that affects AM radio communications and the frequencies employed by the State and Municipal police forces.

Has Laguna Cartagena ever been discussed again? This body of water attracted considerable attention in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Laguna Cartagena is linked to many local legends, ranging from witches, wandering spirits on the roads, and even aliens have reportedly been seen walking along the highways. An incident occurred here in the ‘80s when hundreds of witnesses from Lajas, Betances and nearby communities saw an object plummet into the lagoon. Witnesses say that a huge sphere fell into the waters. What makes this incident strange is that Federal authorities immediately intervened to remove whatever it was that fell. They explored the lagoon for several weeks with Navy divers, twin-rotor helicopters over the lagoon, drawing water, and managed to remove some spheres. While Puerto Rico has several natural and artificial lagoons, including the Vega Lagoon in Yauco, which has had its own UFO accounts for years. It’s located in the mountainous region of Yauco, and many locals have reportedly seen huge objects coming out of these waters in total silence.

What do you think INEXPLICATA’s readers overseas should know about UFO’s in Puerto Rico?

For those who are reading this article in English, we would like to tell them that the Hispanic peoples have very good and compelling cases. The language barrier has been considerable in making some of these cases known, and the important work being carried out by our friend Scott Corrales has been to provide assistance to non-Spanish speakers and make them aware of what is going on in Puerto Rico and it’s kindred countries. Puerto Rico has serious researchers who work unselfishly as well as alleged professionals who mock witnesses and denigrate their integrity. Such individuals do not last for long, and are in league with the CIA, the NSA and the FBI. It’s regrettable that this should happen in Puerto Rico, but I imagine that it happens in other countries as well, following the pattern of disinformation and mockery on radio, in the press and television. UFOs in Puerto Rico are real. We have been witnesses to this phenomenon and collected evidence about it. Let there be no question about this, although many [cases] have not come to light because some want to avoid being the target of mockery or criticism. Others prefer to remain anonymous, and still others face situations that may befall them [as a result of research]. We have changed the way we work to avoid these situations. We are very grateful to INEXPLICATA for this opportunity, and for giving the English-speaking UFO community a chance to know more about us and share their knowledge with serious researchers in Puerto Rico. You can contact us at: Puerto Rican Research Group, 410 Altos, Floral Park, Hato Rey, PR, 00907, 787.294.1328 and 787.821.1671.

About Me

The Institute of Hispanic Ufology was established in October of 1998 with the appearance of the first issue of Inexplicata. The organization currently has representatives and contributing editors in over a dozen Spanish-speaking countries. Director: Scott Corrales.